MMA or Mixed Martial Arts is fast gaining popularity around the world as a martial art form. MMA mixes together different styles of martial arts to create an unique style that is the most effective in beating opponents. MMA is a full body combat sport that is a favorite of combat sport lovers all over the world. There are mainly 5 MMA organizations. Each of them has been reviewed bellow.

UFC

The UFC or the Ultimate Fighting Championships is a MMA organization that is based in the United States of America. It is the most well-known fighting organization that organizes a number of events all over the world. It is also wildly popular. The UFC has a number of big fighters under contract and has five weight divisions. Its parent company is Zuffa, LLC and Dana White is its President. The Vale Tudo competitions held in Brazil were the inspiration behind UFC and it held its first competition in the year 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The UFC has always included fighters of different martial arts persuasions in its competitions to bring out the best of MMA. Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, etc. are all allowed. Though it received brickbats from the political community in the beginning, it resurfaced later with newer, stricter and more stringent rules. The UFC 2010 got mainstream media coverage. Its official website is www.ufc.com/.

Elite XC

Elite XC or Elite Xtreme Combat is another MMA fighting organization based in the USA. It started off in the November of 2006 and has its headquarters in Los Angeles, California.  It was in 2007 that Elite XC had its first major event in South Haven, Mississippi at the De Soto Civic Centre. Renzo Gracie and Frank Shamrock were the MMA fighters who fought in the first competition.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator, the Latin word for “warrior” is a Mixed Martial Arts organization based in USA. It was the first organization which gave direct access to the Hispanic market. The Bellator organizes its events into seasons. Each event hosts four knock - out tournaments for weight divisions. Bellator has an exclusive television agreement with ESPN and it broadcasts all its fights through it in the USA. Bellator will be holding its second round of championships in 2010 which will be broadcast live on FOX  Sports Net, NBC, The Score and Telemundo. For more information, log onto its official website www.bellator.com/.

Dream MMA

The Dream MMA is another MMA promotion organization that is being promoted by the Fighting and Entertainment Group. It is quite a popular MMA organization with supporters from all over the world. Dream MMA competitions are shown live on Mark Cuban's HDNet. The official website of Dream MMA is www.dreamofficial.com/.

Strike Force

Strikeforce is another USA - based MMA fighting organization which has its headquarters in San Jose in California. It is owned by Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment. The competitions of Strikeforce are shown live on CBS. For more information about Strikeforce, log on to www.strikeforce.com/.